Pondering Grace

By Maryanne Abbate

Some days I have to look squarely in the mirror and whisper, “ Self, you’re going to make it today.”  More often than not my daily responsibilities as my disabled daughter’s main caregiver and the challenges that naturally arise from that situation, sorely out match my ability to cope. In other words, I feel completely overwhelmed on any given day.

Within your own unique circumstances, don’t you find yourself there sometimes?

Life is complicated; it is full of challenges that threaten, like the undertow of the ocean, to take you tumultuously under in swirling force causing you to do somersaults in every direction. Maybe you’ve looked yourself in the mirror and honestly asked yourself, “Am I going to make it today?”

I know some inspiring women that when asked how they are doing, they answer, “I am blessed and highly favored.” Knowing the deep waters they have walked through, it is a miracle they can say this, let alone believe it.

They have come to know that God’s relentless love and grace moved Heaven and Earth to save them through the precious spilled blood of His only son, Jesus, and that the river of His grace continues to magnanimously flow, making provision for every situation they encounter. And, they face some hard circumstances.

That’s our reality, too. We are blessed and highly favored. We already begin each day - each battle - from a point of victory because of our position in Christ. We are children of grace with an Abba-Daddy who offers Himself and His extravagant grace for every moment of every day.

My friend, that gives me hope that I will more than just make it. So will you.

Scriptures to ponder today:

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)


“Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)


“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace, only that it meets us where we are, but does not leave us where it found us.” Anne Lamott

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